First appearing in the American version of the Japanese manga
series "Fist of the North Star" (1995; starring Gary
Daniels and Malcolm McDowell), Marisa Coughlan added to her resume
significant roles in such films as "Teaching Mrs. Tingle"
(1999), "Gossip" (2000), "Super Troopers" (2001),
"Freddy Got Fingered" (2001), "New Suit" (2002),
"I Love Your Work" (2003), "Bill" (2007), and
"Already Dead" (2007). She will next be seen alongside
Kathleen Quinlan in an upcoming comedy film called "The
Dissection of Thanksgiving."

On the small screen, Coughlan is familiar among TV viewers as
Dawnie Parker in the ABC drama series "Wasteland" (1999),
Melissa Hughes (2005-2006), James Spader's assistant, in the ABC
series "Boston Legal," and Jenny McIntyre, a
glossy-magazine photojournalist reassessing her life after her best
friend is diagnosed with cancer, in the Lifetime Television
one-season dramatic series "Side Order of Life" (2007). She
also starred in a string of made-for-television movies, including
"Our Son, the Matchmaker" (1996), "The Sleepwalker
Killing" (1997), "Kat Plus One" (2004), and "Separated
at Worth" (2006). She has also guest starred in TV shows like
"Step by Step," "High Society," "Beyond
Belief: Fact or Fiction," "Diagnosis Murder," "The
Magnificent Seven," and "The Twilight Zone."

Coughlan is currently single after her breakup with actor Kevin
Zegers (born September 19, 1984) in early 2006. About the difficulty
of finding true love in Hollywood, Coughlan admitted, “Yeah, I
would say so. It's difficult at times to find normalcy and I think it
would be good to date someone who wasn't in the industry at all,
though it's hard to meet people like that. If I go out, I go to
dinner or parties with my friends. I don't really go to bars.”

Accomplished Archer

Childhood and Family:

“I grew up in a big Midwestern family of people with real
normal jobs. The concept of not only watching movies, but thinking
you can be in them, was very foreign. So yeah, I did not know a soul
when I moved out here. I certainly didn't know anyone in the
business.” Marisa Coughlan

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 17, 1974, Marisa
Christine Coughlan was raised in Minneapolis and St. Paul. She
attended Breck School, in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and later
enrolled in a BFA program at the University of Southern California,
in Los Angeles, where she majored in Theatre and French, and was a
founding member of the Trojan Backgammon Society. During her junior
year, Marisa studied abroad in Paris.

Marisa is an accomplished archer and won several prizes in high
school. She loves to shoot her bow and arrow out back on her ranch.
She also enjoys baking.

Marisa now lives in Studio City, California, with her two dogs,
Hall and Oates.

Side Order of Life

Career:

While still in high school, Marisa Coughlan landed a role in Tony
Bill's romantic drama "Untamed Heart" (1993; starring
Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei), but her part was cut from the
finished film. Two years later, she appeared in the American version
of the Japanese manga series, "Fist of the North Star"
(1995), starring Gary Daniels and Malcolm McDowell.

The newcomer was next spotted as a guest in an episode of ABC’s
sitcom "Step by Step," the short-lived CBS sitcom "High
Society," UPN’s one season television drama "The
Burning Zone," the USA Network science fiction sitcom based on
the John Hughes' 1985 film, "Weird Science," FOX’s
anthology television show "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction,"
CBS’ dramatic television series starring Dick Van Dyke,
"Diagnosis Murder," and the Western show based on the 1960
movie, "The Magnificent Seven." She also starred in a
failed soap called "The Guilt" (1996) and appeared in the
made-for-television movies "Our Son, the Matchmaker"
(1996), a CBS drama in which she portrayed the younger version of Ann
Jillian's character, and "Sleepwalker Killing: From the Files of
'Unsolved Mysteries'" (1997), an NBC mystery in which she shared
the screen with Oscar winner Hilary Swank.

Coughlan received her first big break in 1999 when she snagged the
regular role of Dawnie Parker in the ABC drama series "Wasteland,"
created by Kevin Williamson. Unfortunately, the show that also
starred Sasha Alexander, Rebecca Gayheart, Eddie Mills, and Brad
Rowe, aired for only three episodes in October 1999 before ABC
canceled it. On her character in the show, Coughlan commented, "She
has the pure, innocent, idealistic side, but she's got a sense of
humor and can get her hands dirty like the rest of them."

During this time, Coughlan appeared in the music video for
Southern California rock band Eve 6's single "Tongue Tied."
She also returned to the big screen in Kevin Williamson's directorial
debut, the dark comedy "Teaching Mrs. Tingle," in which she
played Katie Holmes' friend Jo Lynn Jordan.

Entering the new millennium, Coughlan was featured in the ensemble
cast of Davis Guggenheim's psychodrama film "Gossip"
(2000), with James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson,
and Joshua Jackson. She followed it up with a co-starring role in Jay
Chandrasekhar's cult classic comedy film "Super Troopers"
(2001), starring the Broken Lizard comedy group (Jay Chandrasekhar,
Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske).

“I was supposed to hit Josh Jackson in 'Gossip' and
connected so hard that his ear was ringing for a day. ‘Super
Troopers' was shut down because I smacked someone too hard in the
head.” Marisa Coughlan

Coughlan then played the female lead of Betty, an attractive
doctor whom Tom Green's character falls for, in the comedy film
"Freddy Got Fingered" (2001), which was also directed by
Green. When asked how she got the part in the movie, Coughlan
recalled, “I was so aggressive in the audition that I was
ripping [Tom’s] clothes off. I went further than any of the
other girls who tried out.”

Coughlan has appeared in top 100 "hot" lists put out by
numerous men's magazines in recent years and graced the cover of
Stuff magazine in May 2001. She also won the Movieline Young
Hollywood Award in the category One to Watch – Female in 2001
and ranked #34 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the
World" (2002).

“Hollywood is full of men who need wraparound mirrors so
that they never have a moment when they can’t check themselves
out.” Marisa Coughlan

Coughlan subsequently played the sorority sister of Christina
Ricci's character in the Francis Ford Coppola produced dark comedy
film, "Pumpkin" (2002), and acted opposite Jordan Bridges
in the François Velle directed comedy feature, "New Suit"
(2002). The following year, she was cast in writer/director Nolan
Lebovitz's comedy "Dr. Benny" and starred in Isaac H.
Eaton's romantic comedy "Dry Cycle." She was also reunited
with Christina Ricci in Adam Goldberg's dark psychological drama, "I
Love Your Work." TV viewers could catch her in the TV movies
"Criminology 101" (2003), a drama/mystery in which she
co-starred with Busy Philipps, and "Kat Plus One" (2004),
in which she played the title role. She also guest starred in an
episode of the anthology series "The Twilight Zone."

From 2005 to 2006, Coughlan played Melissa Hughes, James Spader's
assistant, in the ABC legal drama comedy series "Boston Legal."
During this time, she also appeared with Kip Pardue and Eddie Kaye
Thomas in Matt Oates' drama film "Farewell Bender" (2006)
and starred in the comedy pilot "Separated at Worth"
(2006). She was also spotted as a guest in an episode of ABC’s
comedy series "Jake in Progress" and Showtime’s
thriller "Masters of Horror"

2007 saw Coughlan starring as Jenny McIntyre, a magazine
photojournalist reassessing her life when her best friend (played by
Diana-Maria Riva) is diagnosed with cancer, in the Lifetime
Television one-season dramatic series "Side Order of Life."
Also that year, she supported Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba in
Bernie Goldmann and Melisa Wallack's dramatic comedy "Bill”
and portrayed Ron Eldard's murdered wife in Joe Otting's thriller,
"Already Dead."

“I thought I’d be playing the girl next door. But, no
matter how I look, the freak inside me leaks out. They make
undergarments for that.” Marisa Coughlan (on the type of parts
she plays)

Coughlan is now on set and will soon complete her upcoming film
project, "The Dissection of Thanksgiving," a comedy by
Rafael Monserrate in which she will co-star with Kathleen Quinlan.